1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a panel tray display system for improving storage capabilities beyond that of standard shelving, and to a prefabricated product storage and dispensing facility incorporating such a panel tray display system.
2. Description of Prior Art
The physical plan of the pharmacy has changed little since the 1950's. Most pharmacies are an enclosed space having extensive shelving on which prescription items are stored, as well as counter space and a sink. The heart of the pharmacy is the shelving, which takes up the most space. However, as the variety of prescription products has grown and as the volume of prescription sales has multiplied, little has been done to optimize the space efficiency of traditional shelving.
There are at least four significant drawbacks with traditional pharmacy shelving. First, the width available to store and display products is less than the shelf width. The typical shelf unit has several vertically-spaced shelf boards spanning horizontally between two end boards, which prevent the products from falling off the ends of the shelf boards and provide structural stability to the shelf unit. However, the end boards are each typically 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Consequently, for a 32 inch wide shelf unit with 3/4" thick end boards, each shelf board is only 301/2 inches long. That is, 11/2 inches of the width of the shelf unit, or nearly 5% of the width, cannot be used to store product.
Second, the thickness of the shelves occupies what could otherwise be storage space. The shelf board in typical pharmacy shelving is between 1/2" and 3/4" thick. For a shelf unit having ten shelves spaced eight inches apart, 5" to 71/2" of vertical space is occupied by the thickness of the shelves. Another shelf could be added if this lost space could be reduced, thereby significantly increasing storage space.
Third, there is typically considerable "joint dead space" where adjacent shelf units meet, in which product cannot be stored. Most pharmacies are designed to have shelf units arranged either side-by-side or perpendicular to one another. Either way, the presence of end boards reduces the amount of available storage space.
In a side-by-side arrangement, two shelves come together at a joint. The joint is occupied by two vertical end pieces adjacent to one another. For end pieces having a thickness of 3/4", 11/2" inches of storage space is lost at each joint in a side-by-side arrangement.
When two or more shelf units are arranged at right angles, there is typically some "joint dead space" where the units meet that reduces storage capacity. As a practical matter, the products should be displayed so that a user can both see and reach all of the products. Unfortunately, the shelving needs end boards to prevent products from falling off of the end of the shelves. The end piece of one shelf unit typically prevents the user from seeing into and reaching into the joint to remove product from the adjacent, perpendicular unit.
Fourth, the height of the tallest package determines the vertical spacing between adjacent shelf boards. With the individual shelves spanning the full distance between end boards, the vertical spacing between the shelves is determined by the height of the tallest product on the shelf below. Although approximately 90% of all RX packaging is 6 inches high or less, the typical shelf spacing is about 9 inches to accommodate the occasional tall package. Consequently, there is often 3 inches or more of wasted empty space between the top of the typical package and the next shelf above.
This is true even with shelving in which the height between individual shelves is adjustable. RX packages are typically arranged alphabetically in a "book fashion", in which packages are arranged in ascending alphabetical order from the left hand side of a shelf to the right hand side. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art shelving unit 40 on which RX packages 42 have been arranged in "book fashion", as books are shelved in a library.
Once a shelf is full, the alphabetical order continues at the left hand side of the next lower shelf. The tall-packages cannot be separated out onto their own shelf because to do so would be to break the alphabetical arrangement and make finding particular packages difficult. Thus, significant storage space is lost when the spacing is determined by the tallest package on the shelf below.